What letting agency fees are reasonable?
They are all normal, the amounts may differ but as they have to remain competitive I’ll bet all the agencies charge around the same. To me, £15 for a copy of te inventory is disgusting – however I am not convinced they can make you sign an inventory you disagree with, so I sugest that you insist on one free copy of the signed inventory – if you lose it, then that’s your problem and you’ll have to pay. £25 for a bounced cheque may be counted as an ‘unfair contract term’, but if the agency get charged by the bank for bounced cheques, and they are only adding a small admin fee on top of that, then it’s not unreasonable. I think the £15 fee for references at the end of the tenancy is unfair also. They will not send a reference to your new landlord untill you pay the £15. This could add a week or so onto the time taken to reference you for your next home – and as a result may lose you the place. See if you can get this crossed out of the contract – the reference wil only be a standard lette
